22nd - 24th November 2016

Thursday, 24th November: A cool, breezy day, with the blustery wind from the north-east, though with the odd sunny spell....


Selsey Bill: Not much moving again - just a few Brent Geese, a couple of Red-breasted Mergansers and a Great Northern Diver, and a Rock Pipit flew over. Full log below...
(0745-0915hrs): (OM/MJ/BFF/DM/AH)
Great Northern Diver - 1W, 1os
Brent Goose - 3E, 28W
Red-breasted Merganser - 1W, 2os
Turnstone - 35ob
Rock Pipit - 1ob flew E

Ivy Lake: The first-winter male Scaup was still present this morning. (D Knapp)

Ferry Pool: There were two Black-tailed Godwits, two Curlew, three Shelduck and 15 Teal on the pool, with 80 or so of the latter in the channel, and another 50+ in the flooded areas of the field, along with 11 Shoveler and 60+ Wigeon. (AH)

Black-tailed Godwit (above) & Shoveler and Teal on the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: There were six Red-breasted Mergansers, four Great Crested Grebes and two Little Grebes in the harbour, about 60 Knot among the Dunlin flock, 80 Mediterranean Gulls and a few Common Gulls roosting near the harbour mouth and several hundred Bret Geese were scattered about.
There were a few Skylarks, Meadow Pipits and Greenfinches along the spit, and there were hundreds of Herring and Black-headed Gulls along the beach with a few Common and Great Black-backed Gulls among them, and a few dozen Turnstones, but it was too rough to find anything on the sea. There was also a Mistle Thrush in Rectory Lane again. (AH)

Red-breasted Mergansers (above), Mediterranean Gulls, Meadow Pipit & Mistle Thrush at Church Norton (AH)

 

Medmerry (East side): At the Breach viewpoint the strong wind made for difficult viewing conditions and there was little of note; all standard fare including a few Grey Plover and Redshank, plus a couple of Great Crested Grebes. At the 'Toe-end' area of rough ground land birds were few, with most keeping their heads down in the wind. A Black Redstart gave a fleeting view before disappearing, whilst nearby were just a single Stonechat, about 10 Linnets, a small number of Meadow Pipits, a handful of Greenfinch and a flock of c.30 Goldfinch. (BFF/DM/OM/MJ)

Chichester Marina: In the channel were a Goldeneye and 14 Red-breasted Mergansers, a Tufted with a Pochard, plus several Great Crested and Little Grebes. A couple of large Dunlin flocks were also present with about 300 Brent Geese. Highlights were few but near the marsh a Buzzard flew over low and a tit flock contained 24 Long-tailed Tits, with several Goldcrests nearby, whilst a Chiffchaff was present in Salterns Copse. (BFF/DM/OM/MJ)

Fishbourne Creek: There were 2 Spotted Redshanks and 3 Greenshank in the channel early afternoon. (BFF/DM)

Wednesday, 23rd November: A much quieter day than of late, with a light northerly breeze and generally heavy cloud cover.....

Selsey Bill: (0745-0900hrs) (PB)

Great Northern Diver - 1E, 3os
Red-throated Diver - 1W
Great Crested Grebe - 2E, 1W, 1os
Slavonian Grebe - 5W, 2os
Gannet 1E
Common Scoter - 8E, 3os 

Red-breasted Merganser - 1E, 14W, 8os 

auk sp - 1W

Ferry Pool: Just a Shoveler, c40 Teal and six Lapwings on the pool this morning, and a Buzzard was sat in the adjacent field.. (AH)

Buzzard (above) & Teal at the Ferry (AH)

Long Pool: Four Reed Buntings a Song Thrush and a Jay were along the hedges, a Water Rail was squealing in the reeds and along the far end of the channel there were c200 Teal, c100 Wigeon, c500 Lapwing, plus a few Grey Plover, Redshank and Curlew. (AH)

Also a Kingfisher was in Ferry Channel. (PB)

Reed Bunting (above) & Lapwing from Long Pool (AH)

Church Norton: The Long-tailed Duck was in the main channel again with two Red-breasted Mergansers this morning. (IL) Also there was a Great Spotted Woodpecker about and a lot of Brent Geese in the harbour. (PB)

North Wall: Two Egyptian Geese headed north just after dawn this morning, and the Black Brant and two Bar-headed Geese were in with the Brent Geese. Also, two Bearded Tits and two Kingfishers were around the Breech Pool. (IL)

Ivy Lake: The first-winter male Scaup was still present at lunchtime today, along with c40 Pochard and c20 Tufted Ducks. (AH)

Scaup on Ivy Lake (AH)

East Head: It was very quiet this morning, with just a handful each of Skylarks, Meadow Pipits and Reed Buntings, though there was a flock of at least 100 Linnets on the saltmarsh, whilst in the harbour there were just four Red-breasted Mergansers and six Great Crested Grebes. Also, a flock of c120 Golden Plover went high over west. (AH)

Golden Plovers (above) & Linnets at East Head (AH)

Snowhill Creek: It was quiet here, too, with two Greenshanks and 30 Black-tailed Godwits of note, along with a couple of hundred Lapwing, a few Redshank, Curlew and Grey Plover and 100+ Wigeon and Teal, but barely 50 Brent Geese were seen. (AH)

Black-tailed Godwit (above), Greenshank & Greenshank and Redshank at Snowhill Creek (AH)

Birdham: A Buzzard was at out in a cropped field along Sidlesham Lane. (AH)

Buzzard in Birdham (AH)

Tuesday, 22nd November: Another morning of gale force winds, almost due south in direction, and a mix of cloud, some showers and brief sunny spells......

Selsey Bill: Given the weather conditions and wind direction, it was surely reasonable to hope that something unusual might get blown into the Channel, so there was a certain amount of anticipation this morning from the small but hardy gathering of observers present. Alas, it wasn't to be and a four-hour watch proved to be above and beyond the call of duty! It was very quiet again, with just a few Gannets and Common Scoter on the move and a Great Northern Diver offshore. Full log below..... .

0745-1145hrs: (OM/DF/CRJ/AH/JD)

Great Northern Diver - 1E, 1os

Diver sp - 1E

Great Crested Grebe - 2W

Gannet - 2E, 18W

Brent Goose - 2E

Common Scoter - 3E, 8W

Red-breasted Merganser - 5E, 3W

Razorbill - 2E

Kittiwake - 2E

Mediterranean Gull - 4E

(above) A possible explanation for why nothing is being seen off the Bill at present! (AH)

(below) Sunbeams and heavy cloud over the Mile basket as the rain heads in. (OM)

Church Norton: One of the Long-tailed Ducks was in the harbour this morning, along with six Red-breasted Mergansers, six Great Crested Grebes and four Little Grebes, whilst among the scattered waders there were a couple of Bar-tailed Godwits and a few Grey Plovers.

There were many hundreds of gulls along the beach - mostly Herring and Black-headed, with a few Mediterranean, Common and Great Black-backed Gulls among them, and lots of Turnstones, Dunlin and Grey Plover, too, but passerines were all but non-existent save a few Goldfinches and Goldcrests around the Mound area. (AH)

Long-tailed Duck (above), Red-breasted Merganser, Bar-tailed Godwit, Common Gull, Great Black-backed Gull & Wigeon, Teal and Mallard at Church Norton (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were 15 Shelduck, five Curlew, four Black-tailed Godwits, ten Lapwing and a dozen Teal on the pool this morning. (AH)

Shelducks on the Ferry (AH)

Sidlesham Churchyard: There were a couple of Fieldfares, a couple of Song Thrushes and a couple of Goldcrests present this morning, but that was about it. (AH)

Fieldfare in Sidlesham Churchyard (AH)

19th - 21st November 2016

Monday, 21st November: A fairly dire day again, with a strong south-southeasterly wind bringing bands of rain with it, though fairly mild in sheltered spots....

Selsey Bill: Very quiet, with barely anything to be seen beyond a couple of Great Northern Divers, Gannets and Red-breasted Mergansers moving about offshore.  Full log below....
0745-0945hrs: (OM/AH/SR)
Great Northern Diver - 1W, 2os
Great Crested Grebe - 2W, 1os
Gannet - 2E, 2W
Red-breasted Merganser - 2W, 5os
Razorbill - 1W
Kittiwake - 1W


Ferry Pool: This morning there were three Black-tailed Godwits, nine Shelduck, c60 Teal, c100 Wigeon and c150 Lapwing on the Pool. (AH)

Black-tailed Godwit (above), Lapwings, Black-tailed Godwit and Shelduck & Shelduck and Teal on the Ferry (AH)

Long Pool: Just a couple of Reed Buntings and two overflying Snipe and a Meadow Pipit along the pool, whilst in Ferry Channel there were six Black-tailed Godwits, a dozen Grey Plover, 30 Dunlin and the usual Curlews and Redshank. At the far end there were c500 roosting Lapwing, and at least twice that many plus c60 Golden Plover came up from across the harbour. (AH)

Reed Bunting (above), Dunlin & Grey Plover from Long Pool (AH)

Ivy Lake Complex: Most of the time was spent using the car as a hide in the diabolical rain! Copse Lake had the Black Swan family of two adults and their two cygnets, two Great Crested Grebes, four Canada Geese, nine Mute Swans including one sadly lame cygnet, 18 Tufted Ducks, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, two Chiffchaffs, three Goldcrests and a flock of Long-tailed Tits. 

Ivy Lake had 21 Great Crested Grebes, 14 Pochard, more Long-tailed Tits, a Water Rail and a great many Tufted Ducks but no sign of the Scaup. Nunnery Lake just had its usual four Gadwall on it. (SR)

Birdham Pool: A Kingfisher flew across the pool but there was little else of note bar c.20 Little Grebes and 4 Gadwall. (OM)

Chichester Marina: A Coal Tit showed briefly in the same location as last week, in the bushes/gardens at Salterns Lock (west end of the canal where it enters the channel). A Greenshank and a Sandwich Tern were in the channel, plus about 500 Brent Geese, but any hopes of a more detailed count were abandoned as heavy rain set in! (OM)

 

Greenshank and juvenile Brent Goose at Chichester Marina (OM)

 

 

Sunday, 20th November: Storm Angus duly arrived  to give a wild, wet and windy period overnight - though surely not as bad as predicted - and the morning was a good deal calmer and drier than might have been anticipated, with cloud and a strong westerly wind.....

Selsey Bill: A bit of variety this morning, with a Little Auk offshore being the highlight.

Full log below.....

0700-1100hrs:  (SH/JA/CRJ/CF/JL et al)

Black-throated Diver - 1W

Great Northern Diver - 1E, 1W, 2os

Diver sp - 1E

Slavonian Grebe - 2os

Great Crested Grebe - 7W, 1os

Gannet - 2E

Common Scoter - 1E, 5W, 3os

Goosander - 1W

Red-breasted Merganser - 3E, 4W, 2os

Curlew - 1W

Grey Plover - 1W

Sanderling - 3W

Little Auk - 1os (0715)

auk sp - 2E

Razorbill - 1E, 1os

Sandwich Tern - 1W

Common Gull - 1W

Mediterranean Gull - 2E

Note: There was also a distant raptor sp well offshore flying east/south, seen first at 1040 and again at 1050, very broad wings, perhaps a Buzzard or Short-eared Owl, too far off, who knows unless somebody had a raptor leaving south from Church Norton? (CRJ)

Great Northern Diver (above) & confiding Dunnock at the Bill (AH)

Chichester GPs: Ivy Lake complex - There was a Great Northern Diver present this morning on Ivy Lake, initially viewable from near the road it later drifted off towards the far bank. Also present was the first-winter female Scaup with its Tufted Duck companions, a few Pochard and the usual Cormorants & Great Crested Grebes. Nunnery Lake had a few Gadwall on it, Copse was very quiet bar a flyover Kingfisher and both East & West Trout Lakes held Coots, Tufted Ducks and more Grebes including a few Little Grebes. New Lake only had a few Tufted Ducks present. (BI) (Judging by the amount of greyish vermiculation apparent, could this actually be a 1st-w male? Eds)

 Great Northern Diver, above, Scaup, below & with Tufted Duck, bottom (BI)

Later on the first-winter Scaup was still present, but the diver appeared to have departed, presumably back to the coast. Also of note was what appeared to be a family of Black Swans - two adults and two well-grown juveniles - where did they spring from? (AH/IP)

Black Swans on Ivy Lake (AH)

Church Norton: This morning there were two Long-tailed Ducks, a Slavonian Grebe and four Great Crested Grebes, and in the harbour there were a drake Goldeneye, at least eight Red-breasted Mergansers, six Little Grebes and ten Great Crested Grebes, along with a Kingfisher.

A Rock Pipit and a few Skylarks were along the spit and three Stonechats and a couple of Cetti's Warblers were along the Severals, whilst along the beach were four Common Gulls, at least ten Mediterranean Gulls and at least 50 Dunlin, 30 Grey Plover, 40 Turnstone and a few Knot, with half a dozen Bar-tailed Godwits in the harbour. (S&SaH/AH/IP)

Slavonian and Great Crested Grebes (above), Red-breasted Merganser, Common Gull, Mediterranean Gull & Grey Plovers, Dunlins and Turnstones at Church Norton (AH)

Ferry Pool: Just one Shelduck, 20 Teal and 80 Wigeon present this morning. (AH)

Wigeon on the Ferry (AH)

Park Farm, Selsey: Not much of note this morning - just a Stonechat and the leucistic Black-headed Gull, back for its third winter, and also two Sparrowhawks were over the north of the village. (S&SaH)

Leucistic Black-headed Gull at Park Farm, Selsey (SH)

Pagham Lagoon: A quick look this afternoon produced a female Goldeneye, a drake Red-breasted Merganser, two female Pochard and the usual Little Grebes and Tufted Ducks, plus half a dozen Linnets at the spit end. There were ten Common Gulls and 30 or so Mediterranean Gulls on the lagoon, and at least another 60 of the latter amongst the gull flock on the island at the end of the spit. (AH) 

Goldeneye (above), Red-breasted Merganser, Little Grebe & Linnet at Pagham Spit (AH)

Saturday, 19th November: A day that started bright and cold before the clouds gathered and showers started, as we brace ourselves for tonight's storm....

We start on a lighter note with the below photo, which shows your two editors in action....... whatever could they be up to?  No, it's not an audition for 'Brokeback Mountain' or any other of the dubious suggestions put forward by some of the regulars! In fact, OM is shown giving a piggy-back to AH at Church Norton a few days ago, to avoid the latter getting wet feet when a high-tide cut them off. It was going well and dignity and privacy was maintained....until DM managed to capture the deed for posterity! (OM)

It was a piggy-back, honest.....(DM)

Selsey Bill: (PB/AB/IP)

(0715-0830hrs)

Great Northern Diver - 4E
Red-throated Diver - 4E
Gannet - 6W
Shag - 1E
Common Scoter - 3E
Long-tailed Duck - 1W
Red-breasted Merganser - 9E
Mediterranean Gull - 10W
Common Gull - 1W
Kittiwake - 6E
auk sp - 1E
Meadow Pipit - 2W
Linnet - 1N

Also 1430-1600:  (SH/JA)
Slavonian Grebe - 2os
Grey Plover - 2W
Red-breasted Merganser - 1E

Mediterranean Gull - 2E

Park Farm, Selsey: The Dartford Warbler and a Stonechat were again present and there were also eight Grey Partridges in the area. (S&SaH)

Church Norton: This morning a Long-tailed Duck was again offshore from the harbour mouth, and there were also at least two Slavonian Grebes, a Great Northern Diver and two Red-breasted Mergansers on the sea. A Peregrine and a Kingfisher were both in the harbour, and at least six Bar-tailed Godwits and an Avocet in flight were seen among the commoner waders. (IP/PB/AB)

Also seen later on were a Short-eared Owl over the spit, a Stonechat, six Slavonian Grebes, a Long-tailed Duck, six Common Scoter and six Red-breasted Merganser offshore, a Razorbill and two Red-throated Divers going west, a Goldeneye in the harbour and a notable influx of Blackbirds since last weekend. (S&SaH)

Also a redhead Goosander was in the harbour this afternoon. (IP/BI)

Goosander in Pagham Harbour (BI) and Short-eared Owl over the Spit (SH)

Ferry Pool: There were two Green Sandpipers, a Black-tailed Godwit, a Shelduck (with another eight over), 25 Teal and c200 Lapwing and Wigeon were all on the pool and field. (AH)
A Great White Egret was reported flying over north at 12.15pm. (per IL)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to Stilt Pool - There was nothing out of the ordinary this morning, but large numbers of wintering birds were seen, including the Common Sandpiper on the Stilt Pool, at least 200 Skylarks and similar of Linnet, Meadow Pipit and Goldfinch, a dozen Reed Buntings, at least four pairs of Stonechats and large numbers of Wigeon and Teal. 

The two Bar-headed Geese were still with 50 or so Canada Geese and at least 1000 Brent Geese were seen moving around during the morning. (AH)

Common Sandpiper (above), Stonechat, Skylark, Linnet, Reed Bunting, Bar-headed and Canada Geese, Brent Geese and the remains of the old outflow jetty at Medmerry (AH)

Sidlesham Churchyard: There were six Fieldfare and a Redwing in the churchyard this morning. (S&SaH)

Chichester GPs - Drayton pits: Not a great deal to report, with heavy showers bringing a hasty end to my visit. The most notable birds were at least 75 Gadwall, with similar of Tufted Duck, and also present were 20+ Pochard, a dozen Shoveler and a few Wigeon. Six Snipe were along the pool edges, four Chiffchaffs were in the hedgerows and nearby a couple of Cetti's Warblers were calling, whilst four Green Woodpeckers, a Buzzard and a Kestrel were about the best of the rest before the rain set in. (OM)

Tufted Ducks and Pochard at Drayton GPs (OM)